Chapter 500: Town in Nanyi Country (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After Lin Jiang left, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Lu Sheng thought of her dream a few days ago and had an ominous feeling.
“What are you thinking about?”
Seeing that she suddenly became gloomy, Chu Sihan asked worriedly.
“Nothing.”
Lu Sheng smiled faintly and shook her head. “When do we set off?”
It would take at least a month to travel from here to the border of the two countries. However, with Chu Sihan around, they could arrive anytime.
“There’s no hurry.. According to Lin Jiang, there shouldn’t be many puppets yet. Gao Xu should be able to handle them alone.”
Lu Sheng said in a low voice, “I have to return to the Lu family.”
“Okay!”
Although she did not tell him why she wanted to go back, she must have her reasons for wanting to do so.
Twilight descended when all the guests had left.
The next morning, Lu Sheng rejected Chu Sihan’s company and returned to Liu Yue Village.
As there was no one at home recently, Lu Ran would usually come back to stay and travel to town in the morning.
He had just sent Lu Jiang and Lu Xin to the carriage when he saw Lu Sheng.
“Brother.”
“Second Sister!”
When the two people in the carriage heard Lu Sheng’s voice, they hurriedly lifted the curtain.
Lu Sheng smiled and patted their heads.
Lu Ran thought that she was going to the vegetable field. Hence, he smiled and asked, “Are you here to pluck the vegetables?”
“No.” Lu Sheng shook her head slightly and said in a low voice, “I have something to tell you. Let’s go back to the room first.”
Seeing her stern expression, Lu Ran felt that something was amiss.
He hurriedly let Lu Jiang and Lu Xin play by themselves before entering the room with Lu Sheng.
“Did something happen?”
Lu Ran asked softly when he entered.
He felt that Chu Sihan would not bully Lu Sheng, much less let her be bullied.
Lu Sheng took out the title deeds and the betrothal gift Chu Sihan gave her, which was also the title deed for the farmstead that Caretaker Shi was in charge of now.
“These are the deeds for the two restaurants and the vegetable field. This is the deed for the courtyard in town. This is the deed for the nearby farmstead. I’m raising crayfish there. You can find Caretaker Shi there directly.”
Lu Sheng looked up and sized up the room. She said in a low voice, “It’s not appropriate to not have anyone in such a big courtyard. Moreover, Sister Leya needs someone to serve her when she enters in the future. Brother, if you have nothing else to do, go to the market and buy a few honest people.”
“Ah Sheng, are you alright?”
The more Lu Ran listened, the more he felt that something was amiss.
If Lu Sheng did not look fine, he would have suspected that she was explaining about matters after her death.
“What can happen to me?” Lu Sheng smiled faintly and said, “The Chu Mansion is so big. These can be considered the Lu family’s assets now. I can’t manage two families by myself, so I can only hand them to you.”
“Is that so?” Lu Ran questioned.
He kept feeling that this matter was not that simple.
“Yes.”
Lu Sheng said softly, “Anyway, I’ve already married out. This Lu family will be yours in the future. You can’t continue to trouble me.”
“But these are all yours. This farmstead is the betrothal gift Lord gave you. It’s also yours. It’s only right for you to keep it.”
Lu Ran pushed the items back. “You’re a girl. We have to leave some protection for you.”
Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow and asked in amusement, “Brother, do you think I look like someone who doesn’t give myself any protection?”
As she spoke, she continued smiling. “Moreover, I’m the Third Prince’s disciple. Everyone in the Chu Mansion has to follow my orders. Who dares to treat me badly?”
Lu Ran smiled, but he did not intend to accept it.
“No matter what, these are yours.”
Lu Sheng had worked hard to achieve everything in the Lu family. He could not sit back and enjoy the fruits of her labor.
“I said I’m giving them to you.”
Lu Sheng pushed those items back and pretended to be unhappy. “Brother, I’ll be angry if you don’t accept them.”
“No, what happened?”
Lu Ran frowned. “Is there a difference between placing these items with me and with you?”
“How is there no difference?”
Lu Sheng retorted, “If it’s with me, it’s equivalent to something from the Chu Mansion. But if it’s with you, it’s something from the Lu family. How can it be the same?”
Seeing that he did not move, Lu Sheng continued to persuade him. “Moreover, if I lack money in the future, I can come and get it from you. It’s not appropriate for the Chu Mansion to say anything, right?”
Lu Ran thought about it and felt that it made sense.
He hesitated before accepting it.
“Leave them with me. I’ll keep them for you. Come and get it from me when you need it.”
Lu Sheng smiled and nodded. “Okay.”
She stood up and smiled. “Then, Brother, go ahead and busy yourself. I’ll go to the vegetable field and return to town later.”
Lu Ran nodded. “Okay, go ahead.”
Lu Sheng strode out. She first went to talk to Lu Jiang and Lu Xin for a while before leaving on her carriage to the vegetable field.
Lu Ran watched the carriage leave and turned to Lu Jiang and Lu Xin. “What did your Second Sister say to you just now?”
Lu Jiang said, “She told us to listen to Brother obediently and study properly.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes, that’s all.”
Lu Ran frowned and mumbled, “Am I overthinking?”
“Brother, what’s wrong?”
Upon hearing his muttering, Lu Jiang was very curious.
“Nothing. Sit tight. We’re going to town.”
“Oh!”
When the two of them heard that, they hurriedly returned to the carriage and sat down.
Lu Sheng walked around the vegetable field and plucked two big pumpkins and a few cucumbers before returning to the Chu Mansion.
Chu Sihan had just finished speaking to Chu Hongzhong and Chu Siyun about his long trip with Lu Sheng when she returned.
Seeing her holding a cloth bag in one hand and chewing on a cucumber in the other, he raised his eyebrows slightly.
“So, you went back to eat these?”
“Isn’t that so?” Lu Sheng smiled and said, “Do you want to have some too?”
He smiled and shook his head. “No need. I’ll leave them all to you.”
“You don’t know what’s good.”
Lu Sheng glanced at him and continued walking.
Chu Sihan chuckled softly and hurried after her, walking alongside her.
“When do we set off?” she asked.
“Tonight. I’ve agreed with Father and Siyun.”
Lu Sheng nodded and continued chewing on the cucumber.
At noon, Lin Jiang came over again.
After leaving the Chu Mansion yesterday, he kept feeling that he had missed something.
When he thought about it carefully, he realized that there was something wrong with these two people.
When he mentioned those strange people, besides a grave expression, the duo did not have any doubts.
This also meant that the two of them should know what those ‘strange people’ were.
Or, they should have met them before.
In Chu Sihan’s study room.
Lin Jiang looked at the two people opposite him for a while before asking, “I came here today to ask the two of you if you have seen those strange people before?”
“So what if we have or haven’t?” Chu Sihan raised his eyebrows. “Could it be that Young Master Lin can defeat them just because we’ve seen them before?”
Lin Jiang was speechless.
He only asked out of curiosity. Why did he have to strike such a blow?
“So, the two of you have actually seen those strange people before?”
He composed himself and asked again.
“Yes.”
Lu Sheng nodded. “Those things are puppets. As to whether they were refined from a living person or a dead person, I’m not sure yet.”
“Are they really puppets?”
Lin Jiang was shocked. “So, the deeds recorded in the books are true? Someone really refined puppets back then?”
Lu Sheng nodded. “Yes!”
“Do you know who refined those puppets?”
“Don’t worry about this and don’t ask too much.”
Chu Sihan said coldly, “If you want to continue living, it’s best not to participate in this matter.”
He looked straight at Lin Jiang and continued, “Your master will be fine.”
“But…”
“No buts.” Chu Sihan interrupted him. “You have to remember that there are some things that you can’t manage just because you want to. If you insist on doing so, be prepared to drag the entire Lin Mansion down with you.”
When Lin Jiang heard that, he froze.
Judging from Chu Sihan’s expression, he was probably not joking.
Moreover, Chu Sihan did not have to joke with him.
Moreover, he could ignore his own safety, but not the Lin Mansion’s.
“Then… Trouble the two of you for my master!”
Although he was still very curious, he did not dare to take the risk after hearing Chu Sihan’s words.
After Lin Jiang left, Lu Sheng raised her eyebrows and looked at Chu Sihan. With a faint smile, she said, “Why did you scare him?”
Xian Jing and Xian Ya should not care about mortals like Lin Jiang, much less destroy the entire Lin Mansion for him.
“Fourth Master Lin once said that his youngest son is very curious and obsessed. Once he’s curious about something, he will keep investigating.”
Chu Sihan said coldly, “It will be very dangerous for us to act on things. He will be a burden.”
Lu Sheng clicked her tongue and pinched his face. She smiled and said, “My husband is so kind!”
He was obviously worried that Lin Jiang would encounter danger if he traveled with them. Yet, he still said that he was a burden.
If he did not have the heart to care, he could ignore Lin Jiang’s life and death.
Chu Sihan let her pinch his face and said without changing his expression, “After all, Fourth Master Lin only has this one son. If he dies, he probably won’t be able to withstand this blow.”
When Fourth Master Lin was in the government previously, he had helped him a lot. He had to protect his only child for him.
“My husband is so good!”
Lu Sheng let go and two red marks appeared on Chu Sihan’s face.
One could imagine how heavy her attack was just now.
However, this person seemed to have no sense of pain and did not even frown. This made Lu Sheng, who had the intention to prank him, feel bored.
She sat back in her seat and leaned on his arm. “I had a bad dream,” she whispered.
“What dream?”
Chu Sihan asked seriously.
“I dreamed…”
She paused and looked up at him without saying anything.
Seeing that she did not speak, Chu Sihan hurriedly asked softly again, “What did you dream about?”
Then, she giggled. “I was just teasing you. I didn’t dream anything!”
Did he want her to say that she dreamed that he had his heart stolen by the black-robed man to save her and died in front of her?
She really could not bring herself to say this dream.
“Naughty!”
Chu Sihan scratched the tip of her nose lightly and smiled.
The night came quickly.
Lu Sheng placed some clothes and food into the Space Bracelet.
Chu Sihan did not prepare anything because Lu Sheng had already prepared his share for him.
After everything was prepared, Chu Sihan tore a hole in the border between Nanyi Country and Xuan Yue Country.
Holding hands, the duo stepped in and disappeared into the black vortex.
When light appeared again, they were in another unfamiliar place.
Lu Sheng scanned her surroundings and realized suspiciously that this seemed to be a small town.
At this moment, the town was brightly lit.
Strangely, there was no one on the road.
“Where are we?” she asked Chu Sihan.
Chu Sihan explained in a low voice, “This is a small town near the border of Xuan Yue Country in Nanyi Country. If we go out from here, we will reach the border of the two countries.”
Lu Sheng nodded. She was about to speak when she heard hurried footsteps approaching.
The duo turned back and saw a group of soldiers rushing over and surrounding them.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
“I’m a businessman from Xuan Yue Country. This is my wife. It’s our first time in Nanyi Country today. We were bored at the inn, so we wanted to take a walk around.”
After Chu Sihan explained calmly, he pretended to be curious and cupped his hands. “Officials, what happened here?”
“So you’re from Xuan Yue Country.”
Nanyi and Xuan Yue were on good terms. Hence, when the soldiers heard that they were from Xuan Yue Country, their attitudes softened.
One of the soldiers explained, “The streets have been dangerous recently. The two of you should hurry back to the inn. Remember to close the windows and don’t come out if you hear anything in the middle of the night.”
“Thank you for your reminder. We’ll go back first!”
Chu Sihan cupped his hands at a group of people and pulled Lu Sheng away.
Suddenly, they heard roars in front.
The expressions of the soldiers changed drastically. They shouted at Chu Sihan and Lu Sheng, “Quick, follow us!”
Chu Sihan and Lu Sheng, who also heard the roars, did not run back with them obediently. Instead, they stood at their original spots and did not move.
The soldiers felt that they might have been scared silly. They could not care less and pulled the two of them back.
“Run! It’ll be too late if we’re late!”
The soldiers running in front shouted nervously.
The duo was pulled to a secret place and forced into a secret passage.
In there, besides the soldiers, there were also some citizens.
Their faces were pale and they were in a daze. They looked like they had been scared silly.
“Officials, is it dawn?”
An old woman with her eyes closed walked forward with a bent body and asked.
“Granny, it’s just getting dark.”
“Just getting dark?”
The granny seemed to be very disappointed. She sighed softly and groped the wall silently again to find a place to sit.
A soldier walked over and said to Chu Sihan and Lu Sheng, “Our General wants the two of you to stay here temporarily tonight and return to the inn at dawn.”
“They’re here! They’re here again!”
As the roars approached, someone suddenly spoke fearfully.
“Everyone, quiet!”
A stern-looking man in full armor walked over.
With his shout, everyone inside became silent.
“Extinguish the torch.”
He instructed the soldiers softly.
“Yes!”
The soldiers obeyed and extinguished their torches.
Lu Sheng and Chu Sihan stood at the side and listened to the roars get closer. In the end, the roars seemed to be on the other side of the wall.
Everyone in the secret passage held their breaths and waited for the roars to fade away.
It was only when the roars disappeared that everyone started breathing heavily.
The torches in the secret passage were lit again, and the surroundings regained their brightness.
“General Xiao, what are those monsters? Why can’t ten thousand arrows piercing their hearts kill them?”
A young man dressed like a scholar walked forward and asked softly.
General Xiao shook his head. “I’m not sure either.”
He still did not know where these strange people came from.
“Could someone from Xuan Yue Country have deliberately let them in?” Someone guessed.
“Impossible!”
General Xiao shook his head. “They’ve lost a lot of soldiers recently. Moreover, the two countries have been on good terms for twenty years. There’s no reason for Xuan Yue Country to break this peace.”
“This general is right.”
Lu Sheng said calmly, “If these strange people were sent by our Xuan Yue Country, our Xuan Yue Country wouldn’t have waited until now.”
General Xiao looked over. When he saw Lu Sheng and Chu Sihan, he frowned.
“You’re from Xuan Yue Country?”
Lu Sheng nodded. “Yes.”
General Xiao’s gaze landed on Chu Sihan and he frowned.
He kept feeling that this person in front of him was familiar, but he did not know where he had seen him before.
“General, Mr. Gao is back.”
“Quick, let him in!”
General Xiao, who wanted to ask the duo, heard the words ‘Mr. Gao’ and his eyes lit up.
“Yes!”
The soldier jogged out. After a while, he walked in with someone.
When they heard the words ‘Mr. Gao,’ Lu Sheng and Chu Sihan suspected that it was Gao Xu.
Hence, when he and the soldier walked in, the duo was not too surprised.
When Gao Xu entered, he did not notice the two people in the crowd and bowed to General Xiao.
“Mr. Gao, how’s the situation outside?”
“Sigh—”
Gao Xu sighed softly. “There’s too many. They’re getting more and more.”
General Xiao’s face darkened. “What should we do now?”
“Those monsters will not die at all. As they are already dead, unless we break their necks, we will not be able to kill them.”
Gao Xu’s expression was grave.
“Dead people?!”
Everyone was shocked.
“Why would dead people move?”
General Xiao was also shocked.
“There’s an ancient book that recorded a similar incident. It said that an immortal once wanted to rule the human world and specially refined dead people into puppets so that they could deal with the citizens of the various countries. At that time, there were countless deaths and injuries. As this matter became too big, it alarmed the other immortals and after those immortals received the news, they rushed to the mortal world to work together to eliminate those puppets.”
When General Xiao heard Gao Xu’s words, his expression changed drastically. “Could these people be the puppets recorded in the ancient book?”
Gao Xu nodded. “Most likely!”
“If they’re really puppets, wouldn’t our Nanyi Country be finished?”
“Who can save me?! I don’t want to die yet!”
“General Xiao, we don’t want to die!”
…
Everyone shouted. Some people were so scared that they started crying.
“Shut up!”
General Xiao turned his head expressionlessly. “If anyone dares to shout again, I’ll get someone to throw them out to feed those monsters!”
This method was indeed useful. Everyone who was crying immediately stopped talking.
It seemed like they were shocked.
“Huh?”
Although there was a torch, it was relatively dark inside.
When Gao Xu looked up at the crowd, he vaguely saw two familiar figures, but he was a little uncertain.
He stood up and strode over.
“Mr. Gao, what’s wrong?”
Seeing him suddenly stand up, General Xiao thought that something had happened in the crowd and hurriedly asked.
“It’s really you?!”
When he saw the two smiling faces, Gao Xu was so excited that he forgot to reply to General Xiao.
General Xiao looked suspiciously at the three of them. Seeing that Gao Xu knew them, he did not disturb them further.
“Hero Gao.”
“Uncle-Master Gao.”
The duo greeted him at the same time.
“When did you arrive? Why didn’t you say anything? Where’s Lin Jiang? Did you meet him on the way here?”
Gao Xu asked a few questions in one breath.
Lu Sheng glanced at Chu Sihan and heard him explain faintly, “We met him on the way and told him to return to Huang Yang Town to wait for news.”
“Something’s not right!”
Gao Xu frowned. “Didn’t the two of you just get married a few days ago? It should take at least a month to get here from Huang Yang Town, right?”
“The State Minister sent us here.”
Just as Lu Sheng’s heart jumped, Chu Sihan suddenly spoke without changing his expression.
“I see!”
Almost everyone knew that the State Minister knew magic.
“In that case, the State Minister is here too? What about your master? Did he come with you?”
Chu Sihan shook his head. “Something big happened in Xuan Yue Country too. They can’t come.”
When Gao Xu heard that, he was immediately disappointed.
“There are more and more monsters. They won’t die even when we shoot arrows or burn them, unless we break their necks. However, there are so many of them. We can’t get close at all.”
Before he broke one of them, other strange people would probably break his head first.
Chu Sihan said coldly, “Leave this to us.”
“Can you do it?” Gao Xu was a little worried.
“Where did those puppets go?”
Chu Sihan did not answer his question but cut to the chase.
Gao Xu said, “They’re walking in town. If they don’t see anyone, they’ll return at midnight.”
Chu Sihan nodded slightly. “Then, we’ll attack at midnight.”
“Do you have a way to deal with those puppets?”
General Xiao finally asked.
Chu Sihan said coldly, “There are many ways, but I don’t know if we can kill them.”
When General Xiao heard that, the light in his eyes dimmed again.
He knew it. Even he and Gao Xu could not deal with those strange people. How could these two young people in front of him have a way?
“I heard you call those things puppets just now. Are they really the legendary puppets?”
“Yes.”
Chu Sihan nodded and said lightly, “To be honest, Uncle-Master, we’ve seen these puppets in a small town before. However, they were living puppets. And you said just now that those people were dead. Those might be puppets refined from dead people.”
No wonder there was no movement in Yong Fu Town recently. It turned out that Xian Jing and Xian Ya had turned their targets to the dead.